I’ve been home from my travels now for four days. It hardly seems to me like it has been this short of time. I came home and discovered that I was behind in a lot of things, so many in fact that I didn’t make a list. Why bother? I thought. Having a list (which would also require sub lists) would make me feel even more overwhelmed. I also figured that it did not matter what task I first decided to tackle, there was just so much to do. . . .

I did write and finish the Knik River Ramble essay. And I did start in on writing up my backlogged dispatches. And I did resume caring for the animals. And I did clean up the detritus around the woodpile. And I did

Gang of four

clean the goat pen. And I did give Pete a hand loading the full manure buckets into the back of the Tundra so that he could take it all to our friend Gene’s place. These were all things that did not get done in my absence.

Pete did an amazing job around the stead when I was away, and for this I remain extremely grateful. What a guy. Everyone tells me how lucky I am to be with him and deep down I know they are right. When you live with and interact with someone on a daily basis it is easy to forget this. As I’m writing this, he’s downstairs doing dishes. I ran out of steam tonight at 7:30 p.m. It is now dark, and my energy level drops as the sun sets.

Today Josh the farrier came and trimmed 16 hooves all total. The horses now behave so well that Pete and I no longer later rehash how it went. We used to, but as they got better and better, we began saying less and less. There was absolutely no noodling. Josh was also in a very good mood, which of course also helped to set the ponies at ease. This was admirable considering he must have been in pain – he was recently kicked in the ribs by a horse. His is a dangerous profession.

The horses even remained calm when the brush cutting machine (the guys called it a hydro-axe) went by. It was very noisy, and the driver went around the loop several times.

I told both Pete and Josh that the other day Raudi and I met up with the driver and machine at the Oceanview Road - Murphy Road intersection. She expressed her concern by raising her head and putting her ears forward. Additionally, she was pretty bug eyed. However, she did not make any attempt to turn tail and bolt home, which was something she would have done in the past.

After Josh left, I rode Hrimmi around the loop and on the trail. Then I did agility with her, Raudi, and Tyra. What wonderful ponies they all are. And what a good time all of us around here continue to have.